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Writing Prompts for August 2017

WRITING PROMPTS FOR AUGUST 2017

I don’t know about your summer, but mine is flying by. Lots of heat and thunderstorms lately, but it saves me watering my mom’s garden, so I’m not complaining.

I hope you have been enjoying your summer and finding some creative time, too. If you’re looking for something to fill your journal pages, I hope some of the prompts below will provide the necessary jump-start to a story or poem.

Use one, some, or all of the words in one of these groups to write a story or poem.

  • Sun, blue, smoke, distance, danger, escape
  • Race, down, fear, road, gravel, slip, red
  • Bridge, under, flow, rain, caught, grey, free
  • Ledge, climb, safe, rope, loose, night, silver

Here are some opening lines to get you started.

  • Once upon a midnight ….
  • Henry slammed his fist down on the table, “Enough!”
  • That was my second lie today.
  • If you wanted someone who was going to be on time, you shouldn’t have picked Henry.
  • Horizontal snow and another two miles to ride.
  • That road led straight to the castle.
  • Another nightmare.
  • We had no choice. We left Henry and moved on.
  • I was tired of feeling that everyone had a say in the matter but me.
  • I wish I were programmed to forget.
  • Roscoe came and sat silently at my feet. He could feel something was wrong, too.

Perhaps one of these titles will be inspiring.

Moonrise, Copper Storm, The Girl Who Didn’t Care, A Rose for Helen, Team Player, Lonely Heart, Run, The Attic, Wonder Full, Storm Chaser, Pirate Moon, The World Beneath the Stairs, Samantha and Sam.

Here are some dialogue excerpts. See if you can build a scene or a story around one of them.

  • Am I the last one?
  • There should be two more.
  • How long are we going to wait for them?

 

  • Did you hear that?
  • Yes.
  • Then why didn’t you hide?

 

  • Six o’clock.
  • So?
  • So, Henry said we should leave at six.
  • Henry’s going to be disappointed then, isn’t he?

 

  • Come over here.
  • No.
  • But you’re all alone.
  • Exactly.

 

  • Have you seen Henry lately?
  • Why? Worried?
  • It’s not like him to stay away so long.
  • Enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts.

Hope you have a writerly August!

 

June 2013 Writing Prompts

Peonies - My favourite June flower
Peonies – My favourite June flower

I can’t believe it’s June already. We had every kind of weather in May from snow to a heat wave with thunderstorms, high winds and hail in between. I’m hoping that June calms down a little–and not just here, but for those other parts of North America that have already had enough destructive weather to last a lifetime.Here are the writing prompts for June. If you don’t find any of these inspiring, you can find lots to write about at the Writing Prompts tab above, too. Hope you have a creative month!

1. Use one, some, or all of these words in a story or poem.

a) music, heart, fear, jacket, flower, door

b) basket, park, jewel, mirror, thunder, hope

2. Here are some opening lines for your story.

a) Jenny smelled like cookies.

b) It was only 8:30, and already I knew I should have stayed in bed.

c) Red cars are best.

d) The wind moaned in the chimney.

e) Flat tires aren’t funny.

3. Some things I think of when I think of June. Maybe they’ll inspire a story or poem.

weddings, the longest day, summer solstice, “June is busting out all over,” June bride, D-Day, Juno, school’s out, June bug, report cards, graduation, Father’s Day, midsummer, taking off the first hay, fresh mown grass, bird song, gardens, planting, change.

4. Here are some lines of dialogue that you can use to create a story.

a) I’ve had enough

Enough what?

Enough you.

b) I’ve stepped in something

You’re right. Now, keep moving.

What is it?

You don’t want to know.

c) There’s a light flashing.

Don’t worry. It’s only a problem if it’s red.

It’s red.

5. The year is nearly half over. Where are you with the resolutions you made in January? Is it time to make some new ones? Are you making progress? Are New Year’s resolutions just dumb anyways?

Hope you have fun with these prompts and find some joywriting time for yourself in the next 30 days!

 

Writing Prompts for January 2013

Kitchener bus station in December rain
Kitchener bus station in December rain

Here are some writing prompts to give you a creative start to the new year.

1. Use these song titles to inspire a story or poem: What’s New, New Sensation, New World in the Morning, All Those Years Ago, Year of the Cat, 2000 Light Years from Home, Last Year’s Man, Reelin’ in the Years.

2. Here are some opening lines you might try.

  • “I’d wish you a Happy New Year, but I have a feeling it would be a little inappropriate at a murder scene.”
  • Jasmine held the small shell, looking at it closely for a moment before putting it carefully in her pocket.
  • The icy rain clattered on the windows like an endless chorus line of rhythm-challenged tap dancers.
  • Winslow put down his pen and read the note one last time.
  • Eyes that green were definitely dangerous.
  • Mike’s Saloon was usually closed in the morning.

3. Use one, some, or all of these words in a story.

  • cheer, light, shadow, photograph, branch, water
  • paper, glass, sand, flight, scent, mirror, bloom

4. See if one of these titles sparks a story: Close By, Amanda’s Wish, Consolation Prize, Run It By, Close Quarters, Light the Way, Last Candle, Jewel Box Mystery, Footprints in Snow, Quinn’s Destiny.

5. Have you ever wished you could travel back in time in your own life? What event would you love to relive? What would you wish you could do over? How are you going to make this new year one that you want to live over again?

I wish you all a creative, prosperous and healthy 2013! Happy Writing!

April Writing Prompts

April 1st has arrived here with gray skies, showers, thunder and hail. Here are some writing  prompts to keep you busy while we wait for May flowers.

1. Use some of these April-related song titles to inspire a story or poem.

  • Crying in the Rain
  • I’ll Remember April
  • Early Morning Rain
  • April in Paris
  • April Come She Will
  • Rainy Days and Mondays

2. Try one of the following sentences to begin or end your story:

  • “Listen to the rain pounding on the roof!”

“That’s not rain.”

  • “Share my umbrella, lady?”
  • “I thought you said this tent was waterproof!”
  • After two hours of the brain-numbing, thud-swish of windshield wipers, Carol stopped her car.

3. Use one of the following as a title for a story or poem:

  • Rainbow Memory
  • Yesterday’s Rain
  • Puddle Jumper
  • Misty Morning
  • Rain Delay

4. Use one or more of the following words in a story or poem: puddle, tree, letter, steps, trail, ache

 

Coffee Writing

The Writer Magazine HeaderI’ve  been having a lot of fun lately creating writing prompts for The Writer Magazine’s website. Click the link to read my Q & A with editor, Sarah Lange.

I call this writing my “coffee writing.” Coming up with ideas for writing prompts is something that I need to do with pen and notebook–and a lot of staring into space. It’s just not keyboard writing. And what better way to do that kind of writing than in a comfortable chair with a coffee at hand. Perfect.

I love the freedom of being able to draw big arrows to move things around and doodle in the margins and squeeze in words above the line and just, frankly, make a mess. The pristine appearance of a computer screen just won’t do for coffee writing. Do you do any writing that just works better with pencil and paper instead of a keyboard and screen?

Right now the prompts are available only to The Writer Magazine subscribers, but after they are published I’ll be adding them to my list of prompts at my book’s website: http://wrightingwords.wordpress.com.

Now, time to put the kettle on and find that notebook!

Writing Prompts

If you’re in a summer writing slump, here are some writing prompts to help you take a fresh slant at your current project, or maybe inspire a new one.

  1. How does your main character (MC) accept a compliment? What is your MC a little (a lot) vain about?
  2. Put an obstacle in your MC’s way by changing the weather. Introduce some high winds into the story. How do they affect your MC? Stop an escape with a fallen tree? Blow sand into MC’s eyes? Make so much noise the MC can’t sleep. Signal a weather change and send MC down with a migraine?
  3. Think about the different forms of “power.” Personal, financial, political, power of nature, power of the weak, superpower, electrical, etc. What power is in the hands of the antagonist or the MC’s family, friends, lover that make the MC’s task even harder? What power does the MC exert on others?
  4. Brainstorm or free write around one or all of the following words: glass, willow, tile, edge, ring
  5. What stories would you write for these titles? In Cold Blood, Twice Shy, The Winter Sea, Cat Among the Pigeons, The Most Dangerous Game, The Sound of Thunder

 Have fun with your writing projects. If you try one of these, I’d love to know how it turns out.

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